The future of electrification: powering Australia’s mines

The mining industry is at the cusp of a significant transformation as electrification technologies become more commonplace.

From electrified transport to renewable-powered processing plants, electrification has emerged as an effective means of reducing emissions without compromising production.

Moreover, emerging studies suggest that electric alternatives may offer superior operational, safety and financial benefits. For example, the Electric Mine Consortium: 2020 to 2024 report found that electric mines can operate at costs between 56% and 88% lower than their diesel-powered counterparts.

For somewhere like Australia, with ambitious emissions reduction targets of net-zero scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050, electrification seems a logical choice. Efforts to make these technologies commercially viable are under way, yet the mining sector remains in the early stages of its decarbonisation journey, with challenges in terms of the financial and time costs of making mine sites electric.

We look at how companies are attempting to achieve electrification and the obstacles still standing in the way of success.

Mines: going electric

According to Jordan Strzelecki, strategic analyst at GlobalData, two main avenues for mining sites to decarbonise include fleet electrification (to tackle scope 1 emissions) and renewable energy adoption (scope 2 emissions). 

Fleet electrification has attracted particular attention as an effective first step towards a fully electric mine site, with advancements in electric vehicle and battery design meaning that even large-scale haul trucks are now being electrified.

For instance, in 2024, Perth-based mining services company Perenti completed testing of an electric 65-tonne (t) vehicle prototype. Trialled at AngloGold’s Ashanti gold mine, it was found to be even more effective than its diesel counterpart (operating 25% faster and producing 80% less heat.)

Similarly, ABB completed a retrofit of a Nuh Cement haul truck from diesel to zero-emissions last May, which it estimated would save approximately 100,000 litres of fuel and prevent 245t of CO₂ emissions annually. 

“In the past, constraints have been around the readiness and scale of the technology required,” says Darren Kwok, head of mining electrification and technology at Perenti. “Underground mining has a limited envelope of the size of equipment you can put in the tunnel. And you have to move a lot of weight, so the challenge has been that we have not had a battery big enough to move this kind of load.”

“But now, because of the push for decarbonisation and developments in industries like automotive, it is at the point where we are looking at how to make ambitions around electrifying mine sites into an operationally ready solution.”

Collaborating on mine electrification

Now, miners are increasingly looking to collaborate with equipment manufacturers to bring these plans to fruition. Most recently, in September, Fortescue signed a $2.8bn (A$4.43bn) deal with German-Swiss equipment manufacturer Liebherr to create one of the world’s largest zero-emission mining fleets.

Similarly, last year ABB completed a study alongside Perenti and IGO, which found that converting its Cosmos Nickel project in Western Australia to an all-electric underground fleet was not just feasible but would lead to cooling and ventilation cost savings, as the heat emitted from diesel-powered vehicles was eliminated.

While the Cosmos mine is now in care and maintenance, the study joins the growing evidence for electrification’s benefits. As technology continues to develop, these tools are only expected to become more competitive, and Strzelecki predicts electric fleets will be commonplace by 2040.

On top of this, integrating renewable energy into a mine’s power system is gaining increasing traction.

Introducing renewable energy to Australia’s mines

According to a 2024 GlobalData poll, miners see on-site renewables as the most effective way to cut emissions by 2030, with several companies setting short-term 100% renewable energy targets.

“Switching to renewables will be critical for miners to meet near-term scope 2 emission targets, which typically aim for a 30% reduction from a set baseline by 2030,” says Strzelecki.

“GlobalData’s research shows renewables are projected to account for 36% of future capacity, more than double the current 17%.”

To this end, an increasing number of mining corporations are exploring renewable power technologies at their mine sites.

Back in 2022, Rio Tinto pledged $600m (£464.77m) towards scaling up renewable energy assets in the Pilbara as part of efforts to decarbonise its iron ore operations. Similarly, gold mining company Gold Fields is in the process of building out a wind and solar array to power its mine with 73% renewable energy and reduce its carbon emissions by around 50% by 2030.

Overcoming implementation challenges

While having significant potential, the challenge remains of how to restructure a mine’s infrastructure to incorporate renewable power.

“The mining industry’s shift to renewable energy faces several structural and operational hurdles,” explains Strzelecki. “Many mining operations are in remote areas with little or no grid access, making large-scale renewable energy deployment costly and logistically complex. Developing the necessary infrastructure – such as microgrids, transmission lines and on-site power substations – requires significant investment and long-term planning.”

Renewable energy generation also depends heavily on the location of the mine, with certain areas better suited for wind or solar power generation. Regardless, all mines will need large-scale energy storage solutions to ensure reliability, further adding to the cost and complexity of renewable power integration.

“There is still a lot of learning that needs to be done when it comes to the suitability of a mine,” adds Kwok. “A lot of electric equipment requires a whole new kind of mine design. If you have set up for diesel, you may be suboptimal because you won’t be able to recover the cost benefit of needing to change some of the infrastructure.”

Despite these challenges, industry sentiment around mining’s ability to adapt technology to support electrification accordingly remains optimistic.

The future is electric

Confidence around the future of electrification in mining comes not only from the fact that environmental concerns are motivating development but also the fact that electrification is proving to be the better option from an operational standpoint.

“There is already incentive to meet emissions targets, but the safety and productivity benefits of an electric machine may just make it a better machine,” says Kwok. “And if that is the case, then we would find a way of making it work for us.”

Challenges to overcome include developing the interoperability between electric systems, and further developing battery storage and charging technologies to increase their capabilities. Yet Kwok believes the shift to electrification is inevitable as it becomes a greater priority for businesses and governments alike.

The main barrier, he says, is in understanding the equipment. Once a level of comfort is achieved, he sees the path as clear to widespread adoption.

“In our industry, we want to understand something before we productionise it, which makes a lot of sense, and right now we are still in the midst of understanding,” he says. “But if we can build the right technology and mature it at the right rate, then it will become our new normal.”

Kwok contends that it is a matter of ‘when’ and how rather than ‘if’ mines will embrace electrification. “For some mine sites, it might be a move to battery electric. For others, it might be a mix. Some mine sites may not be ready today but will be in the future.”

Sign up for our daily news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

Sign up